Gas, Disneyland, Slow Economy, Tourism, and CM's.

I was thinking about the current state of affairs while at work today. I had CNN online in one tab, which cited how high oil is currently trading. I had MSN in another tab, citing how the economy is currently stalling. My travel was in another thread as I looked into booking a future business trip. And on #4 was Micechat which was discussing everything from the lack of tourists, to the current surplus of CM's. The interesting thing is that this is all tied together, and I am curious how everything will work out.

Take for example CM's. A lot of CM's are not local, so they have to commute to work. Some carpool, or take a train, or bus, but a majority of them are single drivers who commute almost every day to work. The economy is slowing down, which means less jobs. So Disney has seen it's turnover plummet and it's CM ranks swell as people attempt to keep the jobs they have. At the same time Disney pay can not keep up with the rising cost of gas, and many find themselves paying to work their jobs. With less in a CM's pocket they either seek out a second job, which may or may not solve the problem, or look for a better job, or a more local one. So while the economy overall may be slowing and Disney's ranks are full right now, the reality is this might change as gas goes up.

At the same time the park is feeling the effects of this slowdown. The various industries that supply the park have been raising their prices, as everything now costs more to produce. Tourists are cutting back on their vacations, or canceling them all together as airlines charge more, and in some cases it is even money whether you fly or drive. The weak American dollar is attractive to International tourists, but the airline tickets, frequent cancellations, and overall headaches make many think twice.

When people comment on how empty the park is, it's no wonder. Many right now are trying to keep their jobs, or find better ones. Many more can not afford to travel, and even those working and managing the park are starting to feel the pinch. I am curious how all of this will play out. I have no doubt eventually it will work itself out and Disneyland is definitely in a much better position to weather the storm. I am wondering if any on here remember the gas crunch of the 70's, or more specifically how Disneyland weathered that storm.

Re: Gas, Disneyland, Slow Economy, Tourism, and CM's.

Re: Gas, Disneyland, Slow Economy, Tourism, and CM's.

Sadly our economy is going to take a big hit and that means even places like DLR will feel the crunch... though not as much as the Regular Joe. It will become a place of those that have and those that have not. Guess which ones will be in the park?

The optimist in me wants to believe that the economy will work itself out, but then I watch stocks, etc and I cringe. Not another 80's and certainly not another depression please. I'll take a slightly slowed economy over both of those any day.

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Re: Gas, Disneyland, Slow Economy, Tourism, and CM's.

Well as you can see Disney is already taking action by raising food prices and Cutting hours, I'm sure we will see the park closing early more often in the Months to come. But Disney has money coming in from many sources. I personally think the news media adds to the hysteria of it all, people see the news about a slow down and say well we better not spend any money or go on vacation so that we are prepared for this slow down. so I am going to blame the Slow Economy on the News Media and say that if we got rid of all the news media we would be in a much better place in our lives...

Re: Gas, Disneyland, Slow Economy, Tourism, and CM's.

Re: Gas, Disneyland, Slow Economy, Tourism, and CM's.

I hate their idea of cutting back hours. I got really sick from pulling 4- 12 hour shifts in a week and had to call in for a week.
It may be helping the company, but it's hurting our CM's...Especially leads like me.
Booo

Re: Gas, Disneyland, Slow Economy, Tourism, and CM's.

As for what I've read in a variety of different news sources the economy will probably continue to slow until our next president is in office. The price of oil isn't likely to drop with world demand maxing out global supply. How this affects the park will probably be shorter hours and fewer CMs. I am in the fortunate position that it will not affect my plans to visit the park in October, but I beleive that I am in the minority. I truly hope that the park weathers this current storm without too many casualties.

Re: Gas, Disneyland, Slow Economy, Tourism, and CM's.

My hope is that we loyal SoCal'ers will keep the Parks busy enough until things improve. The problem? We are fighting a war in Iraq for the Big Oil Companies. Ever wonder why these companies make windfall profits when they supposedly BUY their oil from the Arabs? Two sectors make money during wars -- the oil companies and the defense industry. Both basically own Washington, DC. We might see gas prices level off for awhile, but we will NEVER see them lowered.

Re: Gas, Disneyland, Slow Economy, Tourism, and CM's.

I was not trying to make any sort of political statement, and I ask that others please refrain from doing so as well. I really do not want to see this thread moved. My main question is how the current gas spikes, and slowing economy, will affect both Disney and it's CM's. When the hours become short CM's tend to look elsewhere for a better job. Under the current economy that may or may not be possible... if they land a better job then likely that will be one less CM. At the same time a lot of CM's may not be able to afford long commutes. Disney by comparison is seeing higher costs, and less tourism, so they are trying to cut back and labor is one area they have always previously cut.

Re: Gas, Disneyland, Slow Economy, Tourism, and CM's.

Originally Posted by techskip

I was not trying to make any sort of political statement, and I ask that others please refrain from doing so as well. I really do not want to see this thread moved. My main question is how the current gas spikes, and slowing economy, will affect both Disney and it's CM's. When the hours become short CM's tend to look elsewhere for a better job. Under the current economy that may or may not be possible... if they land a better job then likely that will be one less CM. At the same time a lot of CM's may not be able to afford long commutes. Disney by comparison is seeing higher costs, and less tourism, so they are trying to cut back and labor is one area they have always previously cut.

It seems like the slowing economy is already hurting the theme parks. In my 7/04 Dateline Disneyland column today, I included photos showing the lack of wait times in the parks, even for the brand new, heavily-marketed Toy Story Midway Mania. Also, Club 33 Mike noted that the parks aren't very busy today for the big Fourth of July holiday in the In Disneyland on the 4th thread -- not a great sign for park business considering Disneyland is quite often forced to close the park at some point during the day on holidays like the Fourth.

Furthermore, the current $99 3-Day So Cal ticket offer is an incredible steal, considering the 1-Day Parkhopper is regularly only $8 cheaper than the current 3-Day special. That Disney would launch such a promotion immediately following the So Cal 2fer promo (which was also extended by an additional month this year) -- well, it seems like TDA is trying anything it can to keep attendance numbers up, despite the terrible economy.

Re: Gas, Disneyland, Slow Economy, Tourism, and CM's.

I don't think its simply gas/food prices but the economy as well. Less income for many. Food is more expensive so I am not shocked by the raising of the food prices. Thankfully, we won't be driving an SUV this time but we still are carefully budgeting out gas money and making sure our hotel came with breakfast. I wouldn't be surprised if our gas costs the same, at least it shouldn't be more. It is quite possible that if we didn't get comp tickets and use points for our hotel we might be too stretched to go this year ourselves. At least the hotels still seem to have bookings through the end of July.

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